Back to School ... Back to Acquisition

But whether you mail a calendar or a letter, or send an e-mail, these few reminders can help acquire more donors who will have long relationships with your nonprofit.

Get them in
It’s been said before, but it’s too essential to ignore. If donors aren’t intrigued enough by the carrier envelope of your direct mail or the subject line of an e-mail, it doesn’t matter what else you include. They won’t see it. Given the low response rates of most acquisition, keeping costs low is essential. Trim here and skimp there, but never “go cheap” on your envelope or think any subject line will do. Creativity has to be amped up to max when designing and/or writing these two elements. While a closed-face, quality stock envelope with a commemorative First Class stamp is powerful, it’s generally not cost-effective for acquisition. So find something between that and the plain white offset No. 10 window envelope — and make donors want to open the envelope or e-mail.